The war over the future of Warner Bros. continues, as Paramount Skydance announced Monday a revised all-cash offer for the traditional film studio. The offer includes an “irrevocable personal guarantee” from Oracle’s chief backer, billionaire Larry Ellison, to provide tens of billions of dollars in equity financing for the deal. This is the latest move by Ellison’s son, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, to lure the company away from rival streaming giant Netflix.
“Larry Ellison has agreed to provide $40.4 billion in equity financing for the offer and an irrevocable personal guarantee against Paramount for damages,” Paramount’s press release on Monday said. Although the proposed equity financing had previously been included in Paramount’s proposal, the elder Ellison’s “personal guarantee” is new, the press release states.
The amendments were announced just one week after the WBD board rejected Paramount’s original bid and instead supported an earlier deal with Netflix. The deal was announced on Dec. 5 and outlined how the streamer would acquire the movie studio through cash and stock options at $27.75 per WBD stock, worth a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion.
Three days after the Netflix partnership was announced, Paramount offered $30 per share in a hostile takeover bid totaling $108.4 billion. The WBD board rejected the proposal, calling it “fantasy” and claiming that Paramount had misled shareholders about the financing of the proposed deal. In its rejection, the board noted that the deal with Netflix is a “binding agreement with enforceable commitments that do not require equity financing or strong debt commitments.”
Now, Paramount’s revised proposal aims to “address concerns expressed by WBD regarding Paramount’s superior proposal,” Paramount said. In October, CNBC reported that WBD had rejected three different acquisition offers from Paramount prior to the Netflix deal.
“Paramount has repeatedly expressed its commitment to acquiring WBD,” Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison said in a press release Monday. “Our fully funded, all-cash offer of $30 per share was made on December 4th and continues to be an excellent choice to maximize value for WBD shareholders. Our commitment to investment and growth will make our acquisition excellent for all WBD stakeholders. It will be the catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical production and more consumer choice.”
He added, “We look forward to the WBD Board of Directors securing this value-enhancing transaction and taking the necessary steps to preserve and enhance Hollywood’s iconic treasure for the future.”
TechCrunch has reached out to Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.
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